McLaren may switch to orange livery from next year

McLaren is open to the notion of returning to an orange livery for its Formula 1 cars from next year onwards, according to team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

With Vodafone set to leave the team as a sponsor at the end of the season and with Mercedes to end its engine-supply deal, the British team could revert to its traditional colours soon.

“I really like this idea. The colour orange is great, especially for McLaren,” Whitmarsh told F1News.ru. “We use it in the GT series. It looks great! And we will continue to move in this direction.

“But in Formula 1 it's different: the modern business model F1 is one of the main tasks of the team - to promote and advertise brands of our partners,” he said referring to the silver colour which associates the team with engine-supplier Mercedes.

“And if we're lucky some time to find a sponsor who likes orange, you will see that colour racing again in Formula 1,” he added.

McLaren last used its traditional orange colours during the pre-season test in 2006.

“The orange is synonymous with the origins of McLaren, as the team ran their Formula 1 and Can-Am racers in the colour for a number of years starting with the M5A in 1968,” read a statement on the official F1 website in January that year.